How to Prepare for the Greek A2 Exam (Speaking Part) — Insights from Our Co-Founder
2025-03-04 11:34
New Cyprus naturalization rules make it easier for IT professionals to get a Cypriot passport. Our co-founder seized this opportunity and passed the required Greek language exam.
Here, he shares his experience — how he prepared, what worked, and his approach to the speaking part. If you’re planning to take the exam, you’ll find useful insights.
Ever heard the joke about the student who prepared for a zoology exam knowing only one topic — lice? When asked about sharks, he confidently started with: “Fish don’t have fur, but if they did, they’d have lice…” and carried on about lice for the rest of the exam.
Funny? Yes. But also useful. That’s the approach I took for the oral Greek language certification exam. Here’s how I prepared.
Structure of the Oral Exam
The Greek language certification exam has three main parts:
- Answering questions: The examiner asks about your life, family, preferences, and experiences — basic conversational topics.
- Describing pictures: They show you a picture, you say what’s in it. Then they throw in a few extra questions.
- Role-playing dialogues: You get a scenario and have to act it out with the examiner or another student.
Now that you know what to expect, here’s how I tackled it step by step.
Part 1: Answering Questions
The first part of the Greek A2 oral test isn’t a mystery. It’s built around common, predictable questions. They’ll ask the basics — name, age, where you’re from, job, how long you’ve been in Cyprus. Where does the conversation go from there? That’s up to you.
Here’s what others taking the exam in 2024 reported being asked:
- Why are you learning Greek?
- Where do you prefer to live: in a big city or a small town?
- Where do you work, and how do you commute to work? Do you use public transportation?
- What do you do in your free time?
- How often do you go on vacation, and where did you last travel?
- What is your daily routine from morning to evening?
For my prep, I lined up 50–60 questions. For each one, I had a solid, well-rounded answer ready to go.
Turn Sentences into Automatic Responses
I didn’t just memorize individual words — I memorized FULL sentences. Like blocks of Lego, ready to snap into place. For example:
- I live in Paphos. It’s a small but beautiful city.
- I have a big family — three sons and a daughter. We all love the sunny weather here.
I used a flashcard app called MemoWord. It showed me a question, and I’d practice answering in Greek until the sentences rolled off my tongue without effort.
Part 2: Describing Pictures
This part of the exam involves describing a picture and answering follow-up questions. The themes are predictable: nature, people, daily life. For example:
- A picture of a birthday party?👉 I see a group of people celebrating. I love birthdays because I enjoy giving presents to my friends.
- A beach scene?👉 This reminds me of weekends with my family. We swim, play, and enjoy the sun.
I prepared around 20 descriptions for typical pictures, mixing them with phrases about my life, preferences, and experiences.
Might be useful:
Part 3: Role-Playing Dialogues
The exam also includes role-play scenarios. For example:
- Asking for directions (you’re lost in a city and need directions to a train station).
- At the store (you’re shopping and want to return or exchange an item).
- At the police station (you found car keys and handed them to the police — that’s what I got in the exam, and I was the policeman).
I prepared for about 20 common scenarios, writing out both sides of the dialogue and practicing them like scripts. This way, I knew exactly what to say, even if my partner (another student) got stuck. In fact, during the exam, my partner completely misunderstood the task. I had to guide him through it, asking simple questions to keep the conversation going. Hope he passed!
Might be useful:
Preparation Pays Off: Final Greek Language Certification Exam Tip
I had 2 weeks of intensive training to prepare for the written part of the exam and 4 weeks for the oral part. Morning walks along the seafront? Flashcards in hand. Evening downtime? More flashcards. By the end, I could describe pictures, answer questions, and keep conversations going without breaking a sweat.
Just like the student in that lice joke, I had my “go-to” stories. About my family, my life in Paphos, my love for the sea. No matter what the question was, I could slip these stories into my answers. It worked like magic.
The result? Top marks. And all thanks to a clear plan and relentless practice. The things we do to get what we want…
THE FINAL TIP for the Greek A2 test: Set a clear plan, practice daily, and have ready-made responses.
Might also help
Here are some links with exam details and free materials to practice with:
Good luck!
P.S. Take a look at my article on how I got ready for the written part of the Greek A2 exam.